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Irene Aldana says she's fighting Talita Oliveira at UFC-St. Louis in January

[sigallery id=”RHSqiUgioVBnGZdYCsCXzB” title=”Chookagian def. Aldana” type=”sigallery”]

It appears as if a women’s bantamweight bout is ticketed for the UFC’s January debut in St. Louis.

Irene Aldana (7-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) posted on her Instagram account that she’ll be fighting Talita Oliveira (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 124, though UFC officials haven’t made a formal announcement:

View this post on Instagram

Ya es oficial ! Regreso al octágono en la primera cartelera del 2018. El 14 de enero en #stlouismissouri . Inicialmente estaba programada para enfrentar a Bethe Correia pero por una lesión se canceló nuestro compromiso. Ahora estaré compitiendo vs Talita Bernardo. Estoy muy contenta y motivada en ir por mi primer victoria dentro de UFC. Sé que los resultados anteriores no salieron como quisiera. Pero como atleta quiero compartir con ustedes que aunque a veces las cosas no salgan bien.. no es motivo para rendirse y que con trabajo y perseverancia hay mucho que lograr. Gracias a las personas que me apoyan en las buenas y en las malas. 👊🏼🙂#ufc #fightnight #mexico #brasil #bantamweight

A post shared by I͎R͎E͎N͎E͎ A͎L͎D͎A͎N͎A͎ (@irene.aldana) on

UFC Fight Night 124 takes place Jan. 14 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. It airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass, though the full fight card and bout order haven’t been finalized.

Aldana needs to get back on track after back-to-back losses to open up her UFC career. The Mexican fighter came to the UFC on the strength of a 4-1 run in Invicta FC, where she fought Tonya Evinger for the bantamweight title. She won three fight-night bonuses for the all-female promotion.

But in the UFC, it’s been tougher sledding. At UFC on FOX 22 in December 2016, her promotional debut, she dropped a decision to Leslie Smith. At UFC 210 in April, she followed it up with a split-decision loss to Katlyn Chookagian, giving her the first skid of her 11-fight pro career.

Talita Oliveira

Oliveira, from Brazil, came to the UFC earlier this year after a four-fight winning streak made her 5-1 as a pro after a little more than two years. Her promotional debut was not under ideal circumstances.

After former women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie pulled out of a fight with Marion Reneau at UFC Fight Night 115 in the Netherlands, Oliveira stepped in on a little more than a week’s notice. She made it to the third round with Reneau, but ultimately was finished with a TKO.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 124 card includes:

  • Vitor Belfort vs. Uriah Hall
  • Thiago Alves vs. Zak Cummings
  • Matt Frevola vs. Marco Polo Reyes
  • James Krause vs. Alex White
  • Darren Elkins vs. Michael Johnson
  • Jessica Eye vs. Kalindra Faria
  • Irene Aldana vs. Talita Oliveira

For more on UFC Fight Night 124, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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